*DC: A collection of misfits with strange powers, hated and feared by the world they protect, led by a paraplegic genius in a wheelchair. Sound familiar? Well, guess again – almost simultaneously with the debut of the X-Men at Marvel, DC made their moribund title My Greatest Adventure the home of the ‘Doom Patrol’, created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. While the similarities between the X-Men and the DP are marked, the differences provide a significant contrast – the X-Men are teens, in a special school, with little experience of the world, while the Doom Patrol are all adults with successful careers and lives which they lost when a twisted fate granted them powers which would ostracise and, ultimately, possibly destroy them. The tone was altogether darker, and the series caught on, taking over the title, running to #121, and various reiterations of the team have been mainstays of the DCU ever since. Now announced as the subject of a forthcoming live-action TV show, the DP’s star is on the ascendant. This copy of the Doom Patrol’s first appearance (as well as that of their arch-enemy General Immortus) is a gorgeous FN+ p copy, tight & bright with sharp corners, firm staples, and vivid colours on both cover and interiors. On sale at £300.